Evolution seeks fund management deal to expand Williams de Broe

Evolution Securities is working on a new fund management deal to take assets
under management at its Williams de Broe business to close to £10bn.

It is understood that the City broker, which has received at least two tentative bid approaches in recent weeks, is working on an acquisition of a pool of assets to further increase the size of its wealth business.

Evolution Group

Although the exact details are not known, it is thought the assets are in the region of £1.5-2bn, similar in size to the deal earlier this month to buy £1.8bn of investment management assets from BNP Paribas.

The news adds a further layer of complexity to the company’s takeover situation, which was clouded last week by the emergence of Canaccord Financial of Canada as a potential suitor in addition to Investec. Neither company has made a formal offer.

Canaccord’s name emerged as Evolution parted company with finance director Andrew Westenberger, and brought back Lord MacLaurin, former chairman of Vodafone to the board after a three-month hiatus.

The board’s most recent statement, on August 16, said that it has “received approaches from a number of other parties [in addition to Investec] interested in either part or whole of the company,” stressing that all approaches are at a “very early stage”.

One source with knowledge of the board said: “It’s all gone quiet, and I think they’ve gone into internal debate mode.”

Speculation exists about the possibility of a third bidder, with Canada’s RBC suggested as one possible contender.

News of the forthcoming asset management deal, which at this stage is said to be a work in progress, will however strengthen the argument for continued independence in those discussions should a formal offer appears.